Proposal would cut salaries of school board members

County school board members would be forced to take a big pay cut under a state Senate budget proposal made public today.

Hillsborough school board members make $40,932 a year, while Pinellas school board members make $40,582. Under a proposal by Sen. Steve Wise, chairman of the Education Appropriations Committee, school board members would make the same as legislators: $29,000. The change would save the state $1.5 million in education funding.

Wise, a Jacksonville Republican, said Florida school board members are the highest-paid in the nation. While admitting that the savings from the pay cut amounts to "chump change" in a $22.4 billion state education budget, Wise said every nickel helps as local school districts deal with reduced funding due to sinking taxable property values.

"Since they ran for the position, I hope they didn't run for the money," Wise said of the school board members. "I hope they ran to help young people be successful in life."

Carol Kurdell, past chairwoman of the Hillsborough School board, said board members took a 10 percent cut last year. She is not pleased to hear of another pay cut.

"(Legislators) only work a couple months out of the year," Kurdell said. "I work 24-7. I think our pay is appropriate.''

Board member Candy Olson understands why legislators would set their sights on board member salaries.

"I think it's a tough budget year and they have to look at everything," she said. "And this is probably less toxic than some of the proposals that attack teachers.''

But she thinks legislators could probably save some money by cutting some of their staffs.

"I think the work we do is important and it justifies the compensation that is fair for the 12-month a year job we do.''

The appropriations committee is planning to increase state general revenue money given to school districts by $766 million that will make up for most of the $788 estimated decrease in local school property tax collections. The increase would raise per-pupil spending from $6,866 this year to $6,881 in the 2010-2011 school year.

The committee also has budgeted $34.9 million to help school districts deal with the latest requirements of the class size reduction amendment that would impose hard caps on the number of kids in each class.

The Legislature is expected to put an amendment on the ballot in November that would let districts continue to use a school-wide average to meet the law's caps.